A gold and earliest egyptian coins necklace with felsnar – was the interesting wedding gift given to Princess Elizabeth by King Farouk of Egypt – the egyptian necklace dating back to the third century and incorporation one of the earliest egyptian coins |Queen Elizabeth’s platinum wedding anniversary

Queen Victoria’s| 1840 Christmas Gift

The painting Portrait of a Lady and her son , c. 1510 – 40, recently discovered to be by the German master Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 – 155 3) and his workshop goes on public display at Windsor Castle from Tuesday , 14 November

The painting was a Christmas gift from Queen Victoria to Prince Albert in 1840 and is part of the Royal Collection . The double portrait shows an unidentifie d consort of a Prince – electress of the Holy Roman Empire and her son, their hands clasped together. Although acquired by Queen Victoria as a work by the Renaissance artist, by the early 20th century the painting was considered to be the work of Franz Wolfgang Rohrich (1787 – 1834)

The composition has an intimacy which was thought to have been Rohrich’s invention and uncharacteristic of Cranach’s style. Rohrich was a prolific imitator of Cranach and p roduced over 40 versions of th is portrait . He sold them as original works by Cranach, and they can be found in collections all over Europe .

In collaboration with TH Köln ( the University of Applied Sciences, Cologne ) , Royal Collection Trust’s conservators and curator s examined the work ahead of its loan to the major exhibition Cranach der Alterer: Meister Marke Moderne at the Museum Kunstpalast , Düsseldorf in spring 2017.

Infrared reflect ography was used to look beneath the paint surface , revealing preliminary under drawing typical of Cranach’s work . Analysis o f the pigments, metal leaf and the application of paint provided further evidence that the portrait was a work of the 16th century.
Finally an x – ray of the painting revealed that a fibrous material had been used in the preparation of the panel. Analys is of similar fibres on other works by Cranach has identified them as tendons, and in one instance DNA analysis ha d shown them to be pigeon tendons. Sixteen th – century glue recipes often include d pigeon tendons to strengthen the mixture and counteract the n atural warping and splitting of the wood.

The evidence was reviewed by Professor Dr Gunnar Heydenreich of TH Köln , an expert on Lucas Cranach the Elder, who confirmed that the painting was an original work by the master from which it appears all later ve rsions derive. Court artist to the Saxon electors in Wittenberg, Lucas Cranach the Elder was one of the most important painter s of the German Reformation , a period marked by chang es in religion, philosophy, s cience and art .

Prince Albert was particularly interested in his work , and twelve paintings by Cranach and his workshop in the Royal Collection were acquired by the Prince Consort, several as gifts from Queen Victoria.

Theodelinde was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824), Duke of Leuchtenberg, and his wife Princess Auguste of Bavaria (1788-1851)

The jewels of Leuchtenberg, were remodeled, then for their daughter, Princess Mathilde of Urach, Countess of Wuerttemberg by the ParisiansJeweler, as a dowry of her mother.The jeweler was commissioned by her father’s second wife – Princess Florestine of Monaco …. more about this jewelery and the history of Duchess Altieri.

Masked balls and dance events were a popular alternation of the royal court in Munich in 1840/1841, which were celeprated at great expense, for fundraisers. Thus the Hofkurier reports on 1 February 1840 the following from the Carneval am Hof:During yesterday’s big masked ball in the royal Hofthater, that of the royal. Court….

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The first which was preceded by a herald and trumpeter introduced the chief characters of the novel Kenilwoth, with their Maj. Queen Therese appearing in the richest ornament as Queen Elizabeth of England, the Crown Prince as Leicester.The subject „Tasso“ was chosen for the second movement, with the duchess Duchess von Leuchtenberg, in the richest costumes, showing herself as princess of Este, surrounded by her court.The third was formed by twenty ladies of the local aristocracy, who performed a martial march and dance in the graceful Amazonian costumes taken from the ballet la revolte dans le serail, under the guidance of their royal princess Theolinde von Leuchtenberg:

All the costumes were distinguished by their splendor as a tasteful choice; the costumes of the highest and highest nobility were covered and dotted with a wealth of jewels and jewels, which is invaluable.

The Duchess of Leuchtenberg, Princess Auguste of Bavaria (1788-1851), eldest daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife Princess Auguste Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, married to Eugène de Beauharnais (1781- 1824), Duke of Leuchtenberg Viceroy of Italy. The son of Marie Josephe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie, later Empress Joséphine.

In 1817 King Maximilian I gave Joseph, her husband and his family the title of Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstätt.

Her fourth daughter, Princess Theolinde von Leuchtenberg, in the upper left of the picture, with costume jeweled.On the chest diamond ears are arranged for suns, a necklace and bracelets, and ornaments are probably made of jewels are abundantly distributed on the dress, a bow-shaped brooch on the neckline and a tiara with structure is visible on the head. The jewelry may come from the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, who also received a portion of the diamond ears of the coronation robe and jewelry of Empress Josephine.

A year later, a spectacular masquerade ball took place, in which Princess Theolinde von Leuchtenberg performed a Basque dance dressed in jewels, at that time she was already the fiancee of the Earl of Württemberg, later she married and also on the occasion of her wedding became a costume ball held.

One of Europe’s richest men, the handsome and charismatic 22-year-old Prussian industrialist and mining magnate was immediately captivated by La Païva’s seductive charms, extraordinary mind and business acumen. Their relationship was the talk of Paris high society and in 1871, the two were married.
Witness to one of the Great Love Stories of the 19th Century.These historical diamonds were part of the celebrated jewellery collection of “La Païva”, one of the most famous 19th-century courtesans in Paris and a leading figure of contemporary cultural and artistic society find out more about the story of this important jewels and see it as tiara: